Wondering how to perform laptop data recovery? Check this article and learn how to recover files from laptop hard drive with or without backups.
Thanks to their portability, laptops allow users to work anywhere they want or need to. Therefore, laptops are almost a necessity among businessmen in various fields and students.
With tons of important work and study files stored on the laptop, it will be pretty upsetting to meet data loss.
Data Retrieval off Laptop
I have a laptop that had all the data erased and I need to get it retrieved. I've done it with a desktop before by slaving the drive to a pc and using software to retrieve the data. How can I do it for a laptop? The laptop works it's just the data was erased.
- Question from TechSupport
The above case has shown one of the causes of data loss – deletion or disk formatting, on a laptop. Except for that, quite many other factors can lead to data loss.
If you have noticed you are losing data from your laptop, check these factors.
◀ Deletion. You might probably accidentally delete files in Windows, and undoubtedly, this is the biggest reason why you lose data from storage devices.
◀ Disk formatting. Some users might be wondering does quick format deletes files. Be it a quick format or a full format, your data will be erased.
◀ Recycle Bin emptying. Similarly, if you have accidentally emptied Recycle Bin, the files will be permanently deleted.
◀ Virus intrusion. Viruses can delete, modify and encrypt your data.
◀ System crash. An unexpected system crash will interrupt the data-writing process and lead to data loss.
To help you solve this problem and recover files from laptop hard drive easily, some methods and tools will be introduced.
In this part, 3 viable approaches need backups.
File History is one of the good backup tools on a Windows machine. It allows users to back up and restore C: drive files.
Step 1. Launch Control Panel > System and Security > File History.
Step 2. Restore personal files.
Step 3. Go to the original location of the files you have deleted or lost > select the data you want > Recover. Use arrows to view earlier versions.
Using this too, you can also recover permanently deleted Excel files from desktop.
If the lost laptop files were stored in a folder, you could restore previous versions of files or folders to get back deleted/missing data from hard drives.
The previous versions come from the restore points that the system creates when you have installed any software or updates; and also, if you have enabled File History, this method can help you as well.
Step 1. File Explorer > find the upper/parent folder of which contains the lost data.
Step 2. Right-click the folder > Restore previous versions > choose an earlier or the latest version > Restore.
You could also click Open to view and check the contents.
The most comprehensive and useful backup tool on a Windows machine is the Backup and Restore. It facilitates users to choose the source drive or folder and the target drive or folder on a local disk.
Step 1. Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
Step 2. Restore my files.
Step 3. Browse for files > select backups > select deleted or lost flies from the backup > Next. Also, here you could select Browse for folders and restore deleted folders on Desktop or anywhere you need.
Step 4. Choose a place to store the files as you like > click Restore.
Thus you could restore files from backup in Windows 10, 8, and 7.
Actually, it is not difficult to understand that many users don’t have the habit to back up their important files timely. And thus, they lack the ability to fight against data loss.
But no worries, professional Windows data recovery tools are to help. Using a tool, you could easily scan and detect wanted data from laptop hard drive.
Step 1. Install and run the software > hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.
Step 2. Filters like Size, Type, Date modified, etc., are to help you target wanted files.
Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original location > select deleted files from the laptop > click Recover x files. Or go to Other missing files > select data types and restore.
Not only a healthy drive, but this app can also help you recover data from formatted hard drives.
Laptop data recovery methods, notices, and other info are covered in this guide. Backup tools like File History, Backup and Restore, Previous Versions, etc., can help you recover data from laptop.
Without backups, you could still turn to reliable data rescue utilities for help. In addition to these methods, some suggestions are gathered as well.